Thread-rolling machine.



PATENTED APR. 9, 1907. G. B. LAMB, D. O. GRIGGS & R. H. SMITH.

THREAD ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION PILED'IEB.20,1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATEN'TBD APR. 9, 1907.

G. B. LAMB, D. G. GRIGGS & R. H. SMITH. THREAD ROLLING MACHINE.

APILIOATION FILED FEB. 20, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED APR. 9, 1907. G. B. LAMB, D. C. GRIGGS & R. H. SMITH. I

THREAD ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILBD PEB.20.1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

. EK E No. 849,630. PATENTED APR. 9, 1907. G. B. LAMB, D. G. GRIGGS & R. H. SMITH. THREAD ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 20, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

4 UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

scones B. LAMB, DAVID C. eniees, AND nor n. SMITH, or WATERBURY, ONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS. TO The -\'VA'1ERBURY FARREL FOUNDRY AND MACHINE CCMPANY, or WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA- "r o or CONNECTICUT.

TH READ-ROLLING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Belt known that'we, GEORGE B. LAMB, DAVIDC. Canoes, and ltoY ll. Snrrn, citizens of the United States, residing at \Vater- 5 bury, in the county of New liaven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements in '1 hread-ltolling M.t1Chll1OS,0f which the following is a speciiication, reference being had therein to the f 1 accompanying drawings.

()ur invention relates to new and useful improvements in thread-rolling machines, and has for its object, among other things, to apply an improved hopper mechanism which 1 will be positively operated, to assure the feeding of a single blank from the hopper to the dies at each successive strokc'of the slide,

to provide means for automatically holding the blank-square with the dies until the same 20 have engaged it sul'liciently' to assure the thread being rolled straight thereon, and meansfor knocking the threaded blank from the die after the same has been threaded, .il'

perchance it should hang thereon.

To these and otherends our invention consists in the thread-rolling machine having certain details of construction and combinations of-parts, as will be hereinafter described, and moreparticularly pointed out in the 0 claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference designatelike parts in the'several figures, Figure 1 is a'plan view of our improved thread-rolling machine com- 5 lete. Fig. 2- is a'front elevation thereof.

ig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a portion of the mechanism, taken upon line A B of Fig.

2. Fi 4 is an enlar ed fragmentary elevation 0 .the hopper-bide. Fig. 5 is a sec- 0 tionjal view of the chute, taken upon line C D 3. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation o ve adjustable blank-buffen, Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the pusher and cutofl' slides. Fig. 8 is a front elevation thereof.

4 5 Fig. 9 is a sectional view thereof upon line E F of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is an elevation of a portion of the 'knock-off'mechanism. Fig. 11 is a front elevation of a portion of the mechanism for alining the blanks, and Fig. 12 is an 50 end elevation thereof.

In the practice of our invention we provide a bed 1, which is supported upon a suitable Specification of matters Patent.

Application filed February 20, 1906. Serial No. 301,979,

Patented April 9, 1907;

1 pedestal 2. Movably mounted in this bed beneath the cap 7 is the slide 3, withinwhich the movable die 4 is held by means of the clamp 5 and cap 6. A longitudinal movei ment is imparted to this slide through the crank-disk 3, connection 9 and gear 10 having an operative engagement with said crankdisk. The gear 10 is rotated through a pulley l2,iixed upon a shaft 13, rotatable in the bed 1 and the pinion 14, which meshes into the gear 10. I

The hand die is designated 15 and is held in a die-block 16 by the clamp 17. The dieblock 1c is adjustably secured to the bed by.

any of the means common to the art and which do not constitute any part of the present invention.

The niechansni for automatically feeding the blanks to the dies comprises a hopper 18, that is secured to a plate 19, that is vertically adjustable upon a plate 20, integral with the journal-bracket 21, within which is rotatable the shaft .22,having the pinion 23 thereon, which meshes into and drives a pinion 24 upon a stud'25. Upon this same stud and rotatable with the pinion 24 is a pinion 26, which meshes into and drives a gear 27, having a roll :38 mounted upon one side thereof.

Pivotally mounted to an arm 29, integral with a portion of the hopper 18, is the blade 30, having a tongue 40 upon its bottom edge that is movable in the path of rotation of the roll 28. The blade is provided with a recess 31, and rcmovably secured to the inner faces thereof at the upper edge are the fillerplates 32. Plates of varying thicknesseslare used to accommodate blanks of different diameters. Leading from the hopper is a chute to conduct the blanks from the hopper tothe dies, which chute comprises two parallel plates 33 and 34, having an open space there between of substantially the same width as the diameter of the blank. The plate 33 is secured to an arm 35 upon the hopper 18, with a iiller-plate 36 between said plate and said arm. The width of the space between the plates 33 and 34 is varied by applying filler-blocks 37 of different thicknesses.

Supported above the top ofthe chute by adjustable plates 38 is a cover 39, (see Fig. 5,) leaving an open space therebctwcen of suflieient height to permit the head of the blanks I to pass thereunder, at the same timepreventing the blanks fronrpiling one on top of the other and assuring an orderly arrangement of the blanks within the "chute.

In Fig. 3 the blade is shown-in its up position with the top edge thereof substantially parallel with and forming an extension of the top of the chute, so that the blanks therein slide out of 'said blade into said chute by gravity. When the roll 28 is moved from its up to its down position, the blade drops by gravity, and at the next upward stroke some of the blanks are lifted out of the ho per by the blade and escape therefrom: w en the blade is in its up position, as previously described. This chute is supported at its'outer end by a plate 41, that permits of a limited adjustment of the chute in relation thereto.

Heretofore the hopper mechanism for accomplishing the purposes herein described have always been driven by a belt, rope, or

.other similar mechanism, it being designed that the belt should sli if perchance any'of the blanks should catc -or the mechanism become clogged. It has been demonstrated that this method of driving a hopper mechanism is defective, because the belt after a time becomes permeated with oii and has a tendency to slip upon the pulley irrespectlve of whether the mechanism is clogged or not.

To overcome this objection, we provide means whereby the hopper mechanism is positively driven by connecting some of the parts frictionally, whichshall be sufiicient to insure its continuous rotation while all of the mechanisms are operating smoothly, but not sufiicient, however, to prevent its slipping 1f the parts should becomeclogged or for other reasons the blanks should interfere with the proper operation of the parts; This mechanism comprises a shaft 42, having a pinion 51 thereon, which is rotatably mounted in brackets 43 and 44, fixed to the bed 1 and rotated through a pinion 45, fixed upon said shaft and meshing into the pinion 14. Upon the shaft 22 is a bevel-gear 46, which meshes into the pinion 51 and is frictionally secured by the nut 47 between the fiber washers 43 and 50, the first of said washers lying against the collar 49 on said shaft. In operation if for any reason blanksshould become clogged or the blade work improperly the gear 46 will rotate aboutthe shaft 22 without imparting movement thereto, while at other times the friction is suilicient to rotate said shaft with'said gear.

In the cap 6 a cured to accommodate blanks of various diaameters, the adjustment being obtained by the engagement of the pointed end of the screw 52 with the pointed end of the shank "53. A screw 54, whichimpinges against .said

shank, secures said buffer in its adjusted positions. This buffer is connected with sald slide, so that at one extreme end of 1ts stroke between the faces of the two dies.

buffer 51' is adjustably se-' the buffer is directly opposite the chute, and

the blanks as they pass therefrom engage said bufl er, which determines their proper relative,

position with the dies.

.In the general operation of our-' -thread-.' rolling machine the blanks are conveyed 7 from the hopper to the diesthrough the,

chute, thence between the movable and fixed dies by the action of the slide '3, and while passing between the dies the thread is rolled thereon. In the'threa'd-rolling machines common-to the art it has been diilicult heretofore to properly present the blanks to, the

dies, and if not properly engaged by the dies an imperfect thread results. We have designed means to overcome this objection and V to assure the proper alinement of the blank 1 is movably mounted within a pan-block 56,

that is adjustably secured upon-the top of the bed by the screws'57 and 58 and having which is of slightly lesswidth than the space This slide is operated from a cam 60 fixed on a shaft 11, having the disk 8 thereon, lever 61, which is fixed upon the end of a shaft 62, an arm 63,

a finger 59 affixed thereto, the front end of adjustably secured to said shaft and slotted I at its outer end, with the side 64 thereof elongated, and a block 65, movably secured to the slide 55 by a pin 66. Rotation of the cam 60 imparts a rocking movement to the arm 63 and a longitudinal movement to the slide 55. With the arm 63 having the elongated finger 64 convenient means are provided for the readily assembling or removal of the slide 55 to accomplish either result, it being simply necessary to shift the position of the arm 63 to that shown by broken lines in Fig. 2, when the 'slide may be inserted or withdrawn from the block 56, as desired. 5

Upon the slide 3 is a bracket 67, whichis IIO adjustahly secured theretoby the bolts .68.

Movably secured Within said bracket by the cap 69 is a slide 70, having fixed thereon a stop-block 72 and afinger71, the forward end of which is substantially the same thickness as that of the finger59, The slide 70 is moved in one'dircction by'a spring 73,

which is connected at one end to the spring- ,pin 74. and at the other end to a post 75,

xed'te the cap 69. Mounted within the block 56 adjacent to the slide 55 is a cut-off slide 76, having a finger-plate 77 secured to its front end and a stop-block 78 adjacent to its rear end. Apawl 79 is-pivotally connected with the slide 551 and normally held in its upposition by a spring 80. The slide 76 is moved in one direction by the spring 81, that is fixed between the posts 82 and83,

85 i of time to prevent it, afterward l and in the opposite direction by the engagement of the pawl 7 9 with the notch 84 in said slide, a bumper-pin 85 being fixed in the path of said pawl so as to trip the same at the proper time. As the return movement of the slide 3 is about completed the slide 55, which moves rearwardly therewith, brings the arm of the pawl 79 into engagement with the bumper 85, releasing the same from the notch 84' in the cut-oil slide 76. The spring 81 then actuates the cut-off slide, and the finger upon the plate 77 passes between the first and second blanks in the chute, forcing the first blank out of said chute and into a position between the ends of the fingers '59 and 71. This cut-off slide prevents the feeding ofmore than-one blank at a timeinto the dies, and in addition by its engagement with movement.

the blanks agitates the column of blanks in the chute and keeps them.in order. During the return movement of the slide 3 as above described the bracket 67, carrying the slide 70 therein, moves rearwardly therewith until the stop-block 72 engages the projecting edge of the die 15 (see Fig. 1) and limits its further This stop-block is adjusted so that at the extreme end of the stroke of the slide 3 the front end of the finger 71 will be 'flush with the edge of the blank-chute Simultaneously with the escape of the blank from the chute the slide is actuated and the finger 59 engages the blank and holds it positively in a vertical position between the opposing ends of the finger 59-and said finger 71. The blank.is thus held until the dies engage the same and until the blank has made at least one rotation therebetween, when the threads rolled thereon will be sufficient to prevent the blank from shifting out of alinement with the dies. It will be remembered that the finger 71 is movably connected with the slide 3', but during the first part of the movement of said slide the finger remains substantially stationary, except as it is moved by the blank being threaded, the spring 73 hav g a tendency to hold it 1n its forward p0 ition. After the slide 3 has moved a sufficient distance to permit the engagement of the end of the slide with the cap 6 the finger 71 is withdrawn with the slide from between the dies, In brief, during the first ortion of the thread-rolling operation the ger 71 recedes onl at the same speed as the movement of the lank, which is less than that of the slide 3, but during the latter part i of the thread-forming operatlon the finger 71 moves at the same speed as said slide and is drawn away from the blank.

Frequently after being rolled the blankshave a tendency to hold onto the dies, thereby causing the thread to become stripped or else injuring and destroying the dies. To overcome this difficulty and to assure the leaving of the dies by the blanks, we provide a knock-off which consists of a holder 86,

which is pivotally connected with the slide 3 by the screw 87 and having the roll 88 rotatably mounted thereon and carrying a laterally-projecting knock-off finger 89. During the movement of the slide 3 the roll 88 engages the cam 90, which is fixed to the cap 7, and just before the completion of the stroke of the slide 3 the engagement of the roll 88 with the arm 90 swings the holder 86, so that the fin er 89 assumes the position shown by dotted lines 91 in Fig. 1, the fingers then being substantially parallel with the end of the die 4, and after the die 4 has passed the end of the die 15 the cam 90 actuates the finger 91, which then assumes the position shown by broken lines 92, which is over the edge of the die, and while assuming this position knocks off any blank which has a tendency to hang or adhere to the die.

The mechanism for supplying oil to the dies comprises an oil-reservoir, a pump, (not shown,) which is driven by a belt 93, and a pipe 94, connected with said pum and ter minat-ing in a nozzle end 95, that iesabove the dies and has a plurality of perforations (not shown) in the bottom thereof. The oil is forced through the pipe 94 by the pump and escapes through the nozzle-perforations and drops in streams on'to the dies and'finger 71. The action of the moving die through the streams of oil cleanses and lubricates it, while in the stationary die the finger 71, which is thoroughly wet with oil, moves in front ofsaid die and wipes oil' the face thereof,

' thus distributing the oil uniformly over the whole face.

After leaving the dies the oil is reconducted by any convenient means to the reservoir.

There are minor changes and alterations that can be made within our invention, and we would. therefore have it understood that we do not limit ourselves to the exact construction herein shown and described, but

1. In a thread-rolling machine, the combi-,-

nation with a reci rocating slide; of a threading-die connecte therewith; a fixed die; a finger connected with said slide and having an independent endwise movement thereon; and a second finger movable toward and away from said first-mentioned finger, said first-mentioned finger being operated by said second finger during a portion of its stroke by the blank for a portion of its stroke and by the said slidefor another portion of its stroke.

2. In a thread-rolling machine, the combinationwith a slide; of a threading-die connected therewith; a fixed die; a pair of fingcrsoperative between said dies; means for moving one of said fingers at varying speeds during the same stroke, and means for reciprocating the other of said fingers toward and away from the first-mentioned finger during the same stroke.

3. In a thread-rolling machine, the combination with a reci rocating slide; of a threading-die connecte therewith; a finger connected with said' slide and having an independentjm'ovement therewith; a fixed die; a second finger; said fingers being arranged so as to grasp a blank between the opposing ends thereof when the movable die is in its retracted position; means for imparting movement to said second finger so as to present the blank bet-ween saiddies; and movesaid firstfingerby the time the endof the movable die opposite the end of said fixed die; means for withdrawing said second finger after said dies have engaged said blank,

and means connected withsaid slide for engaging said first finger'and movmg the same therewith after the blank has in part pushed. 7

said finger in advance of itself between said dies.

4. In a thread-rolling machine, the combi-' nation with a slide; of a movable die; a fixed fdie; a knock-ofl' mechanism, comprising a knocleofi' arm pivotally connected with said slide; and cam mechanism fixed in the path of said knock-oil arm for moving the same actuate said mocleofi arm.

' ner walls of said recess, said plates being 0 on its pivot-mounting and thereby sweeping 4o 6. In a thread-rollingmachine, the combination with a fixed die; a slide; a die'fixed to said slide, a feed-chute; and an adjustable bufier fixed to said slide adjacent to the end of said movable die, and arranged to be opposite said feed-chute at the completion of each stroke of said slide.

7. The combination with a hopper-blade 30 having a recess 31 in the upper edge thereof; of the filling-plates 32 secured to the inposite to each other with their topedges su stantiallyfiush with the upper edge of said blade.

"In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. LAMB. DAVID C. QRIGGS. ROY'I-I. SMITH. Witnesses J. M. GALLoND, M. J. NOONAN. 

